"Hiss~"
Feeling the pinch on his waist, Shishou winced in pain but didn't resist.
He hadn't expected Ino and Hinata to lie for his sake.
Despite the confusion, Shishou was very touched by their goodwill.
"Ino, you're pinching too hard."
Hinata, seeing Shishou's expression, quickly pulled Ino's hand away from his waist.
"Are you here to talk?"
On the podium, Iruka yelled at the trio's actions.
The three of them quickly stood properly and apologized.
...
At noon.
Shishou took advantage of the lunch break to return to the mansion in Fire Source City.
"Yo, I thought you'd leave straight away."
At the dining table in Mikoto's courtyard, Shishou took the utensils handed to him by Mikoto and looked at Anko with some surprise.
"Hmph!"
Hearing Shishou's teasing, Anko and Pakura both snorted coldly and glared at Shishou before continuing to eat.
Clearly, they didn't want to engage with him.
"Alright, let's stop this."
"Otherwise, you'll start fighting again."
Mikoto tugged at Shishou's sleeve, quietly reminding him.
Shishou pouted and focused on eating.
Finishing first, Shishou went to the pavilion in Mikoto's courtyard to take a nap on a bench.
He had come to check on Anko's behavior and, finding no issues, prepared to catch up on sleep.
Seeing Shishou finish eating, Anko quickly put down her utensils and followed him to the courtyard.
"What are they up to..."
Pakura glanced at Shishou and Anko's backs, then put down her utensils and pulled Mikoto, who had also finished eating, to practice.
The servants would clean up the table.
Anko paced back and forth in the courtyard, occasionally glancing at Shishou and coughing, as if to say, "Pay attention to me, I need to talk to you, but I'm too embarrassed to speak up."
"You're annoying."
"If you have something to say, just say it."
Shishou was exasperated by Anko's behavior and sat up with a sigh.
"Hehe."
Seeing this, Anko laughed and quickly approached Shishou, speaking ingratiatingly, "Thank you for saving me last night."
"Here, this is your note. Didn't you want me to follow you?"
"I won't go back to Konoha anymore. If you have anything you need, just tell me!"
Anko patted her chest in assurance, but given her limited assets, it didn't make much of an impression.
"I don't believe you!"
Shishou glanced at Anko skeptically and shook his head.
Yesterday, Anko had been adamant about not betraying Konoha, and now she was doing a complete 180. There was definitely something fishy.
Of course, the main reason was that Shishou had already planned a 'silencing' drama for Anko this morning.
Now that the protagonist Anko was backing out, it felt anticlimactic.
"I'm serious."
Seeing Shishou's disbelief, Anko panicked.
She genuinely wanted to stay with Shishou.
Firstly, after the rampage of senjutsu energy last night, Anko had a lingering fear of death and was afraid of being silenced by Danzo if she returned.
Secondly, Shishou had saved her, and she couldn't bring herself to betray him by telling Konoha his secrets.
Thirdly, since Shishou could extract Orochimaru's clone from her body, he might have a way to deal with Orochimaru. This gave Anko hope, as she had vowed to kill Orochimaru.
As long as she could kill Orochimaru, Anko was willing to take the risk.
"Give me your hand."
Shishou extended his right hand towards Anko.
"W-What for?"
Anko looked at Shishou warily but still extended her hand.
Grasping Anko's small hand, Shishou closed his eyes and used Phosphorus Bad Bugs to sense if there was any residual senjutsu energy or Orochimaru's chakra in her body.
Seeing her right hand turn purple from Shishou's grip, Anko was frightened.
But to gain Shishou's trust quickly, she closed her eyes and let him proceed.
Hmm, Orochimaru's chakra is gone.
But there seems to be some senjutsu energy left...
Has Anko gained the ability to use the curse mark after last night's rampage?
While sensing the feedback from the Phosphorus Bad Bugs, Shishou pondered.
Standing up, Shishou looked at Anko's neck and saw that the curse mark had disappeared.
It seemed that the senjutsu energy was not a remnant of Orochimaru's curse mark but something Anko had reabsorbed.
After all, senjutsu energy was just natural energy.
Could it be that Anko had turned into a sage body because of last night's experience?
No, it's more like Anko had become similar to Jugo, with her body mutating due to the erosion of natural energy.
If so, Anko could provide him with a steady supply of senjutsu energy until he mastered sage arts, becoming his 'Sage Energy Extractor.'
This would be a significant aid in his path to becoming a sage!
Thinking this, Shishou was pleased and made up his mind.
"Since you're so cooperative, I'll trust you this once."
Shishou let go of Anko's hand and said.
Hearing this, Anko was overjoyed and immediately asked, "Can you tell me Orochimaru's whereabouts?"
Tch!
As expected, it's still about Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru isn't someone you can handle right now."
"You should focus on your training."
"If you perform well under my command, I might take you with me next time I find Orochimaru."
Hearing Anko's request, Shishou shook his head.
Although he thought Anko lacked self-awareness, he still dangled a carrot in front of her.
"Then it's a deal!"
Hearing that Shishou could really find Orochimaru, Anko eagerly accepted, her eyes shining with determination.
"Of course."
"I always keep my word."
Shishou stretched lazily and continued, "Your first task."
"Recruit all those Root members to my side and turn them into regular Anbu."
"I don't care how you do it; I just want results."
With that, Shishou used the Flying Thunder God technique to disappear.
It was almost time for afternoon classes, and he needed to hurry back.
"So it really is the Flying Thunder God technique."
Anko looked at where Shishou had disappeared, stunned.
Then, her eyes lit up with excitement.
Anko had a grudge against the Root members for their pursuit of her.
Now, she had the opportunity to get back at them.
As for completing the task, Anko wasn't worried.
As Orochimaru's disciple, she was skilled at winning people over, far surpassing most others in this regard, even if she wasn't quite at Orochimaru's level.
Humming a tune, Anko headed towards the dungeon.
"Orochimaru-sama."
"You better wait for me to find you."
"Because you have to die by my hand..."